The appearance of so many new players at once brought the war to a partial hold. The temporary commanders of the chaos faction solidified and reorganized their ranks. Meanwhile the three guilds made their way towards the front. Their addition made the valley quite crowded, but the players of the order faction respectfully gave way. Soon, Final Fend stood at the front with Callida to his right and Phoenix Feather to his left.
"Dream Avenue, Nest of Flames, and Force of Nature. Seems your alliance is quite cohesive. But where are Hotpot? And Earthquake, Cherry Blossom?"
Final Fend focused his eyes on the speaker, whose voice overwhelmed the chaotic chatter of the other players. He found a man standing on a tall tree. Sporting red hair and white skin resembling a vampire, wearing a fine black robe and holding a bone staff emitting the aura of death. This was the most famous player of Falva Star's chaos faction Wave of Bones, guild leader of Graveyard of Heroes.
But he was not the only prominent player present. Scattered on trees and rocks stood other famous leaders. A pair of twins, both with the bodies of black-skinned demons and flaming red hair. A shadowy figure difficult to grasp. A skeleton general carrying an enormous great sword. None of them would admit that they fell behind Wave of Bones yet right now it was indeed the latter who commanded the biggest number of players and had the most speaking rights.
Thus, Final Fend ignored everyone else – even the piercing gaze of his cousin – for now, and answered Wave of Bones:
"Our guild leaders are busy right now. But don't worry. Even without them we will kick your ass!"
"Mhm. Nice words, but they don't match your actions. If you wanted to fight, there would be no reason to stop and talk."
Facing Wave of Bones' cold eyes which seemed able to see through his intentions, Final Fend wasn't embarrassed.
"I didn't specify when we would fight. Didn't all of us gather here for the world boss? I suggest we first kill the boss and afterwards we can fight over the loot. Otherwise, this war might just go on forever."
Final Fend's suggestion led to some discussion among the leader figures. Indeed, most of them came for the loot. Only a minority was interested in fighting a prolonged war against the enemy faction. The benefits simply didn't outweigh the time wasted. Thus, a truce was soon formed. The various leaders decided not to fight each other. Their control extended to a majority of the players present.
Under these conditions only a few of the independent players kept clashing at the edges of the battlefield. The centre was controlled by the guilds who converged towards the four stone steles forming the lock to the prison of the world boss Haola the Green Vine.
Another argument broke out over who should activate the steles. However, it didn't last long. Activating the steles brought no advantage and thus four random players were decided. All of them belonged to minor guilds, two from each faction. They approached the centre of the valley where the four tall stone steles stood at a distance of about a dozen meters from each other in a square formation.
Everyone else tacitly retreated. The four lucky, or perhaps unlucky, players each approached one of the steles. One of them gave the command and all four players simultaneously spoke the code phrase which the guilds had dug up from history books.
Immediately the text on the stone steles began to shine in a brilliant blue light. Rays of light erupted from their tips, meeting at a certain spot in the air. The light increased, forming a small blue sun. The sun then transformed into a circular disc hanging in the sky. Under the gaze of countless players, the centre of the disk turned transparent, becoming a portal which revealed a new world. A barren world devoid of plants where a searing sun shone from above. Just as everyone was wondering where the world boss was, a small green ball rushed in from the side, plunging through the portal.
"Hahaha! Freedom! Freedom! Finally! I, Haola the Green Vine, have left this cursed hell behind!"
The portal disappeared and the blue light dwindled. The green ball dropped from the sky. A deep female voice reached everyone's ears.
"Huh? So many people? Were you the one freeing me? Well done! In return I will grant you time to run away and won't consume all of you immediately. I'm so kind. Hey, why aren't you moving? Run, or you will all became my nutrients!"
Although the voice sounded threatening, no one could take it seriously. The players stared at the green ball which was made up of wriggling vines. They didn't believe their own eyes as they checked the world boss's status.
[Haola the Green Vine
Rank: World boss
Level: 1
HP: 15.000/15.000]
"Are you kidding me?"
"That's the world boss? This gotta be a joke!"
"I cancelled a quest for this?!"
Disbelief could be heard from all sides. The green ball rolled around as if it glared at the players. Suddenly it trembled, sticking two vines into the ground.
"Hmpf. Insolent creatures! I gave you a chance but this how you thank me?! I will teach you regret! I will teach you not to underestimate the power of Haola the Green Vine!"
Haola's voice rose, quickly becoming a roar which spread an invisible pressure through the valley. Suddenly the two vines bulged. At a rate visible to the naked eye the foliage around Haola began to decay. Extremely rich vitality flowed into the world boss's body. In the blink of an eye the size of her body had doubled. And doubled again, and again…
It took barely ten seconds for the green ball to swell to a size of more than thirty meters. But at what cost? The lush foliage around the world boss had been completely drained of vitality. Hundreds of towering trees were cracking, falling apart. The grass withered, becoming dry and grey. Even the sound of birds and insects had stopped. Wave of Bones, originally standing on top of a tree, hastily jumped off. His chest tightened as he checked the boss's status again.
[Haola the Green Vine
Rank: World boss
Level: 55
HP: 870.000/870.000]
"Now, insolent creatures, you will witness the real might of Haola the Green Vine!"
The world boss's terrifying voice rolled through the valley, pressing down on everyone's hearts. A green-skinned, human-like face emerged on one side, pushing through the carpet of vines. Six thick strings of entwining vines formed on the surface of the huge ball, serving as arms. Two of them propped up the main body as the other four swept the ground, delivering the first attack to the players.
***
"Final Fend just sent the message. The fight has begun."
"Good. Our timing isn't too bad."
Liam and his friends had just arrived in Tority. They entered the city which was nearly devoid of players and headed straight for the teleporter. In a flash they reached Duabalis. Finally taking off their shadow cloaks they jogged along the main road, entered the winged mountain, and soon stood before Grandpa Troo.
"Adventurers! You are back!"
"Yes. We didn't disappoint you. Here is the painting you wanted."
Silver Blade took the painting out of her inventory and handed it over to the old nephilim. Suddenly a strange power spread. The painting and the sphere of devilish magic in the centre of the room began to tremble. But Grandpa Troo remained indifferent. His hand flashed, drawing magical runes in the air. The runes fell on the painting, sealing it and everything returned to calm.
"This object indeed has a strong connection with the devil Souravnimn. Very well, you did very well indeed. Here, children, take this reward."
"Children? We are no children.", complained Balm.
"Haha, sure. Tell me that again in a hundred years or so."
Grandpa Troo laughed heartily as he handed over a small bag to the players. Upon receiving their rewards their quest was also completed.
[
[Evaluation: SSS]
[Receive 19.000EXP]
[Receive 2,5 Gold]
[Receive 45 points]
[Receive Scroll: Ward against the dark x3]
[Grandpa Troo received the painting tainted with devilish magic. Will the genius nephilim be able to create a mighty shield against the devil Souravnimn?]
The friends were not particularly excited by the rewards. The scroll they were given could defend against dark magic for a while. It wasn't useless but obviously it couldn't match a piece of unique equipment. At least the granted EXP were quite generous. Only Liam could fully appreciate the high value of the 45 points.
After handing over the painting the friends didn't linger much longer. They said goodbye to Grandpa Troo and hurried to the teleporter. Cyclone was running at the front with a bright grin, urging her friends:
"Hurry up, guys! We have a world boss to kill!"